All plain sail

Crusader Sails of Poole, Dorset have offered to cut the sail cloth, already pledged by Bainbridge, to give Gipsy Moth IV a new suit. Proprietor Paul Lees, said: ‘It’s an honour. I was just leaving school when Sir Francis returned in 1967. When I went to visit the boat at Greenwich it seemed an awfully large rig then, but now it seems tiny.’

Crusader, which started business in 1971, have made sails for craft ranging from the J Class yacht Velsheda, to the Brixham trawler Vigilant. Paul has also cut sails for YM contributors Lyn and Larry Pardy, for Roy Hart’s former America’s Cup contender the 12 metre Victory, and for many sailors in the Old Gaffer’s Association.

Paul cruises a Falmouth oyster cutter Nadine with wife Vicky and races an 1929 XOD Sphex. They have two children. One of them Mark, 12, is the national junior champion in the Optimist class of dinghies.

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